Regular season complete, Kansas City Royals turn attention toward improvement for 2024
The Kansas City Royals avoided further franchise infamy against the New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon.
Belting three home runs, the Royals rolled to a 5-2 victory. In the process, they succeeded in not having to own outright the club record for most losses in a season. Instead, finishing 56-106, they share it with the 2005 Royals.
The consolation is that the Royals did play better down the stretch. They even showed some flashes of brilliance against some of the top teams in the league.
There was the three-game sweep over the Houston Astros. The Royals also won 10 of 11 games in September.
On Sunday, the Royals won their final season series against the Yankees. There are still a lot of holes to fill within the roster.
However, it’s clear that these young Royals believe they are on track toward success.
“The fans, we’ve got to show them more,” Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “We lost over 100 games, and it’s not really acceptable. We’ve gotta get back to work this offseason and get ready to prepare for the next year and get after it.”
Witt had an all-time great season. He became the 45th player to join Major League Baseball’s exclusive 30-30 club. He hit 30 home runs and stole 49 bases this season. Compiling a wealth of highlights, Witt emerged as a tent pole for the organization.
The Royals are expected to return much of their young core next season. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino will be back from injury. Starters pitchers Kris Bubic, Daniel Lynch IV and others should be back, too.
The question remains: Can the Royals build around their young core?
This offseason, the Royals will undoubtedly pursue pitching help. This includes more starters and bullpen arms. There could also be a few trades or signings for impact bats.
The Royals’ expectation is to get better in 2024. They could be without veterans such as Zack Greinke, the former Cy Young-winner who could decide to retire. But the objective will remain the same.
“We lost way too many games,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “The exact number is not what’s important to these guys. I honestly don’t know if they know that. We didn’t talk about that as that wasn’t a part of the daily conversation in there.
“What was a part of it was the understanding that the opportunity to win every game you play, regardless of your record, is what we are trying to do.”
The Royals won 12 of their last 17 games. KC now has a chance to build off that momentum this offseason.
“We all want to play in October,” captain Salvador Perez said. “I think they learned that this year. It’s been up and down this year. Hopefully, we can come into spring training next year and get ready for the season.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2023 at 8:38 PM.
